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InCord

When InCord provides its clients with custom safety netting, it makes sure to listen to them closely to find out their requirements. “[We specialize in] producing what the customer needs quickly, on their schedule,” Graphic Design Manager Peter Greeley declares.

Founders Bob Martin and Ed Ritz started the Colchester, Conn.-based company in 1995, with the goal of supplying the best safety netting solutions at the best prices. Although InCord initially brokered netting from a fabricator, the business grew to manufacture its own nets.

Today, “We are the largest custom netting manufacturer in North America,” Greeley says, adding that its products are sold through distributors and dealers. “This enables us to reach more end users. The end user may already be doing business with an Authorized InCord Distributor, which makes ordering InCord product simple and efficient.”

In addition to construction, InCord serves other multiple markets, including amusement, sports, material handling, warehousing and environmental. “We’ve also got a new federal division which specifically caters to sales to the government,” Greeley adds.

Right on Track

InCord operates two production facilities in Colchester, as well as another in Oakdale, Conn. “They all are focused on what they produce,” Greeley says, noting that one location strictly manufactures construction products.

This allows InCord to complete clients’ projects without any interference from the work of other divisions. “We can keep schedules on track and deliver customers’ products quickly,” he says.

He adds that InCord’s staff is cross-trained in various aspects of production. During busy periods, “We can relocate staff and adjust our production workflow when needed, meeting the customer’s expectations of quality and short lead times, even on high-volume orders,” he says.

Product Pride

InCord’s product lines include its Atlas Personnel Safety Net, which is made with knotless nylon as opposed to knotted netting. “It has the advantage of less sagging and less tangling on site, which makes it easier to work with,” Greeley says.

The product also is flame retardant treated, where flame inhibitors are impregnated into the fibers of the net. “[It] will not wash away, like the traditional dip treatment,” he says.

Greeley also highlights SkyNet, a netting product that allows users to use it as a work platform on site. “This is very popular for painting under bridges,” he says, noting that another application is stadium roof installations.

The product “enables crews to work in areas that would be difficult to access with traditional boom lifts or scaffolding,” he says, noting that SkyNet was recently used to install roofing material on The Shed, a cultural center in lower Manhattan.

RocBloc, a debris containment net, also brings InCord pride. The product, Greeley explains, wraps around the source of debris. “Old concrete may be coming off a façade or bridge, and RocBloc is installed around to prevent it from falling,” he says.

The company also has its Residential Safety Nets (RSNs), which are used in wood frame structures. While typical professional safety nets are installed on the exterior of buildings, “RSN is installed internally between walls in an open frame stage of construction,” Greeley says.

Satisfied Workers

Greeley is a longtime veteran of InCord and joined the company after graduating from college. “I started helping out in the marketing department and working a bit in production, making nets,” he recalls.

InCord operates in an environment where people take pride in their work. “We know that the work that we do here is saving lives,” Greeley says. “We like to keep that in mind every day.”

He adds that the company has nurtured a very positive, community atmosphere. “It’s a place where co-workers thank each other for their work,” he says. “We help each other out.”

The senior managers at InCord also take time to listen to their employees and their concerns. “Our work force is very important to us,” Greeley asserts. “InCord is very family oriented and holds many employee events throughout the year.”

This has nurtured longevity in the company’s staff. “We have some employees that go back almost to the beginning of the company,” he says.

In fact, its employees are so satisfied at their jobs that the Hartford Courant newspaper has named InCord as one of the state’s top companies to work for 10 years in a row. “That’s done through a survey which asks employees to rate their employer,” Greeley says.

He also praises the leadership of CEO Meredith Ritz, the daughter of Ed Ritz. After starting as a project manager at InCord, “She’s worked her way up in the company,” he says. “She’s one of the few female CEOs under 30 of a company this size in the country.”

Greeley sees a strong future for InCord. “There’s always a need for more netting,” he says, adding that the company is looking to expand in the shipping and energy industries. “We look to see where there is a need for safety nets, how people are getting hurt and how we can make the world safer.”